A meeting was held between IBA, UFBU, NOBO & NOBW on 20 August regarding the new PLI scheme for Scale IV and above officers.
This time, UFBU and NOBO & NOBW were called separately by IBA. IBA issued separate letters to UFBU and NOBO & NOBW. Let’s read what happened in the meetings.
From IBA, Shri. A.K. Goel, Chief Executive, Shri. Gopal Murli Bhagat, Dy. Chief Executive, Shri. Arvind Misra, Sr. Advisor-HR&IR, and Shri. S. Sankararaman, Advisor-HR&IR, participated in the discussions.
The purpose of the meeting was to end the deadlock between bank unions and management regarding the new PLI scheme. The Government of India has introduced a new PLI scheme for senior executives of public sector banks. Under the new PLI scheme, senior executives will be eligible to receive PLI of up to one year’s basic pay. In simple words, if their basic salary is Rs. 10 lakh per annum, they could receive PLI of up to Rs. 10 lakh. Whereas officers up to Scale III will receive PLI of only up to 15 days’ Basic Pay plus DA. Bank employees and officers have called the new scheme unfair and discriminatory.
The meeting was held primarily to discuss this issue. UFBU and NOBO & NOBW once again opposed the government’s proposal. They asked the government to follow the Bipartite Settlement and its agreed provisions.
Taking advantage of the meeting, the unions also asked the government to expedite the proposal for five-day banking. Otherwise, the unions might be forced to take further action on the issue, including strike action.
The unions also requested the government and bank managements to deploy adequate numbers of armed guards at branches in view of the increasing attacks on bank staff.
The unions also requested the government to introduce a uniform DA formula for all pensioners.
The unions also urged the government and bank managements to improve the Group Medical Insurance Policy for 2026-27. It has been agreed that the enhanced room rent limit of Rs. 7,000 and ICU charges of Rs. 9,500 will also apply to Hyderabad and Bengaluru.
NOBW & NOBO also categorically opposed the proposal to introduce the Backlog Killer method for determining PLI. NOBO & NOBW said that under the Bipartite Settlement (BPS) / Joint Note, PLI was negotiated, agreed upon, and signed on the basis of the bank’s overall performance. Any attempt to introduce an individual performance-based Backlog Killer methodology would be a unilateral deviation from the agreed settlement and would be totally unacceptable, NOBO & NOBW added.
